The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science. GATE is conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and eight Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT BHU and IIT Roorkee) on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.The GATE committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and declaring the results.The GATE score of a candidate reflects the relative performance level of a candidate.

Admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD and some other Government scholarships/assistantships in engineering colleges/institutes is open to those who qualify in GATE examination. GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture or Master’s degree in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications are eligible for admission to Master’s degree programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture as well as for Doctoral programmes in relevant branches of Science with MHRD or other government scholarships/assistantships. To avail the scholarship, the candidate must secure admission to such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. However, candidates with Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture may seek admission to relevant Doctoral programmes with scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination.

Recently, GATE scores are also being used by several Indian public sector undertakings (i.e., government-owned companies) for recruiting graduate engineers in entry-level positions. GATE qualification is also a minimum requirement to apply for various fellowships awarded by many Government organizations. It is one of the most competitive examinations in India.

A candidate can apply for only ONE of the 22 papers listed in the table given below:

However candidates are free to choose any paper according to their admission plan, keeping in mind the eligibility criteria of the institutions in which they wish to seek admission.